


His Flame

by Shinan7



Category: Naruto
Genre: Blood and Gore, Boys Kissing, Love, M/M, Male Slash, Naru/Sasu, Romance, Slash, Torture, Yaoi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-03
Updated: 2016-02-05
Packaged: 2018-03-10 06:49:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 15,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3280760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shinan7/pseuds/Shinan7
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Naruto has come back from his two and a half year trip, and upon seeing Sasuke, his hormones get a giant kick. Warning! Yaoi, boy/boy, Sasu/Naru, Nar/Sasu, AU, Non-cannon, Rated M</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me in any way, shape, or form.

Note: In this fan-fiction, Sasuke never left to join Orochimaru(though he still wants to kill Itachi). Naruto did go on his two and a half year trip with Jiraiya, and is now back in the loving arms of Team 7. During those 2.5 years, Sakura has done her training with Tsunade, becoming stronger. Sasuke has been Kakashi's responsibility, and he's been a handful.

This is just a test chapter, if people seem interested in more, I will do more.

Warnings:

AU/Non-cannon

OOC(just in case)

Yaoi/Slash/Male Love

Pairing: Sasu/Naru, Naru/Sasu

Rated: M (just because Naruto's imagination goes wild at times, maybe more if it gets to that)

Please no flames about any of the above. I warned you what would or would not be in here, so if you don't like then don't read.

His Flame

Two and a half years.

Naruto had traveled, learned new techniques,and gotten stronger during that time. Finally, he was back, and it had been a wild ride ever since he'd stepped a toe in Kohona. Kidnappings, deaths, missions, even Tora had given him a run for his money again.

But that wasn't the most exciting bit. Ever since he'd caught a glimps of him. Black hair, piercing eyes, unbelievable lips... his hormones had gone haywire.

Right at that moment, Naruto had his eyes glued onto his body, drinking in every gesture like it was water, and Naruto was dying of thirst.

A cloud passed in front of the morning sun, casting a fleeting shadow on the exposed skin in front of his eyes. It looked so smooth, and under that smoothness, hard muscle. Flexing arms. The shirt fluttered, exposing a tight stomach, hard with rolling hills and low lying valley's marking how fit the man in front of him was. The urge to stare and never look away from the magnificent piece of work was almost uncontrollable.

After a few moments of holding himself back, then mentally smacking his face, Naruto finally broke free of his trance.

With one hard swallow, Naruto managed to glance away from his form and down to the scroll open on his lap. The blood pumping through his own body, the excitement growing the longer he stayed within the raven's proximity. Sometimes, the desire was unbearable, and Naruto found that he had to go somewhere alone. Had to get away, and get his release, otherwise the blonde was positive that if he didn't, he would do something undeniably stupid. Something that involved tasting that skin on his tongue, kissing those lips, and losing himself in that delicious ass.

The thought of it had his blue eyes zeroing in on the ninja again. The black ANBU like pants fit tantalizingly well, and Naruto had to hold back a whimper. He itched to slam their bodies together while his hands squeezed that mesmerizing ass, his lips capturing the other's mouth, dominating. He yearned to caress, kiss, and stroke every possible piece of skin. To mark that neck, to claim him as his.

Blue eyes burned with longing as those images passed through his mind, eyes unmoving from their target. The raven moved with a grace that Naruto wished only he saw, that was only ment for his eyes. That movement was spellbinding, it anchored Naruto to the ground.

Again, the hunger, the need reared its massive head.

This time, the moan left Naruto's mouth.

For a second, he froze, eyes widening in shock. But the other didn't turn, didn't stop his training. Not even a twitch to how that he'd heard it.

With a sigh, Naruto's shoulders dropped. There was relief, but also disappointment. What would the raven do if he knew Naruto's most deepest and darkest wishes? His imagination ran wild, showing him bare skin, burning flesh flush against his own. Legs wrapped around his waist, soft moans swallowed by his kiss.

The reality would be completely different then his fantasy.

Memories flooded Naruto's mind. His body hadn't always reacted this way. Back when they were Academy students, Naruto had only wished so very badly to be his rival, to be called his equal.

When had that rivalry morphed into this... this burning passion... this heat that took so long to leave his body after catching just a small glance of him... The unbelievable attraction that Naruto felt course through his veins at the slightest sight of his team-mate... He didn't know.

It might have begun to blossom after the accidental kiss... Naruto vividly remembered the soft lips, the way they meshed against his own...

It had left him breathless.

Maybe that really was when it started, a small crush. Then, after two and a half years of not being able to lock eyes on his figure... to feel his presence... it had transformed into more than a crush.

It had evolved to something more, much more.

Desire.

Want.

Need.

He had become his hopeless flame.

His obsession.

Sasuke.

A/N: I'd love to know what you think of it so far, though maybe I overdid it a bit with the obsession part...

Anyway, thank you for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bold and italic words were removed for some reason, I'm sorry!

"Naruto, I-I never told you this before, but I've always liked you... more then just like you..." Sasuke looked deeply into Naruto's eyes.

That gaze and those words made Naruto's heart flutter with incredible happiness. Slowly, Naruto raised his hand, cupping Sasuke's face, thumb brushing gently against his lips. Then, Naruto leaned in, lips brushing against Sasuke's for a second before deepening the kiss. Sasuke's lips immediately parted, an invitation for Naruto to invade his mouth.

Clothes disappeared, landing were ever they may and Naruto pushed Sasuke back until they tumbled onto the bed.

Early morning light broke through the slit in the window, blinding Naruto as it zero-ed in straight onto his face and breaking him out od his dream.

"Ugh!" The blonde grumbled, rolling away from the offending light. He went a bit too far and ended up falling onto the floor, tangled in blankets, and eyes twitching with irritation.

A second later, he gazed over at his alarm clock.

6:09 am.

"Are you serious?!"

Needless to say, he hadn't really gotten that much sleep. Only managing to drift off about an hour or so after those blasted images that went through his mind finally merged into sleep. Even then, the dreams he had only took up where his imagination had left off.

Sasuke.

Sasuke spread out on Naruto's bed without a stitch of clothing, eyes hooded, moaning as he touched himself, begging for Naruto to take over, to be the one touching, to make his flesh burn.

Sasuke taking him into his mouth, tongue playfully swirling and mouth slowly sucking on his hard member.

Sasuke on top of Naruto, water swishing around them as their bodies slammed together, making the bath water splash over the sides of the tub.

That last image was the final straw.

"Ahh! I need to stop! What the hell is wrong with me?!" Naruto groaned out, slamming his head against the floor, not even caring that there was stars zooming around his vision.

Yet another day, and of course, Sasuke had to be the first and only thing on his mind.

N/S

The streets were surprisingly empty as Naruto made his way towards the training grounds. Usually, people, both civilians and shinobi, were bustling around the city. Normally, that emptiness would have made Naruto pause a bit in surprise, but his thoughts were still fixated on Sasuke, and when Naruto was thinking about Sasuke, a lot of other things were missed by the blonde.

Unless, of course, they slammed right into him, and knocked him to the floor...

"Ugh!" Naruto grunted as his backside made contact with the dirt ground.

"Watch where you're going!" The man snarled down at Naruto, not even stopping to see if Naruto was alright. A few seconds later and he was already a way's away from the blonde who was still on the ground, more then a little shocked about the sudden aggression. But then again, he really shouldn't have been surprised, it really wasn't anything new.

"Asshole..." Naruto mumbled to the person's back since apparently the man didn't want to apologies for being an idiot. Even after all these years, people still treated him like crap.

With a grunt, the blonde pushed himself up, and moved on towards his destination, the training grounds, wanting to start on training so that he could let his frustrations out before his teammates joined him. Sasuke popped into his mind again, grabbing his attention like nothing else could.

This time, as Naruto somehow managed to take his brain away from thinking of his raven haired obsession, he looked around and actually noticed that the streets of Kohona were less bustling then usual. The blonde gazed around for a few seconds in confusion before he shrugged it off. He'd actually gotten out of his apartment earlier then usual so that probably accounted for the mostly deserted streets.

A sudden thought got Naruto thinking that if he could get going around this time every day, that he would be able to avoid many of the hate filled glares that he still received from a lot of the citizens of Kohona. Then he also told himself that he would keep a better watch of the area around him so that he wouldn't accidently run into anyone hostile.

I'm a ninja, how the hell is it that just one little thought of him get's me so distracted that I can't do anything right? Naruto groaned to himself, making the mistake of thinking of the raven haired teen.

"Damn it all!" Just that one thought already had his mind going to how he would pin Sasuke to the floor as seen as he saw him, and ravage his mouth.

With a shake of his head, and a little slap on his cheek, Naruto managed to dislodge the image enough to hurry towards the training ground seven. As soon as he got there, Naruto began with his taijutsu, figuring out that he had to concentrate on his form enough to keep his mind off of a certain someone. This would help him the most because if his attention slipped, he would go back to the wrong way of doing taijutsu, the way that his old teachers at the academy had taught him so that he would fail to graduate. He definitely didn't want to fall back when he'd already gone so far from that horrible mess.

"Stop thinking about him." Naruto muttered to himself, closing his eyes for a second, trying to get back in focus. When he managed it, the blonde started again, this time attacking the log. He went all out, keeping his mind blank except for his next move, his next hit, his next punch, and his next kick.

Every few minutes, he would stop, and close his eyes. "Stop thinking about him."

Somehow, saying the words out loud helped a bit, they made him focus on his goal instead of staying in his mind where the enviable fantasy would follow. After the words, Naruto would begin again, with more vigor.

After thirty minutes or so, Naruto made five clones, and the spar against them began. One against five, and after that, the number would increase.

Hours later, sweat was dripping down his face, and hair looking like he'd just gotten out of the shower. He'd gotten distracted a few times by thoughts of Sasuke, but luckily, he'd managed to bring himself back from overly obsessing about him again.

"I can't stop thinking about him, that's not normal... I'm not normal. What the hell is wrong with me?!"

A beat of silence, then an extremely amused tone replied.

"Of course you're not normal, dobe, about time you figured that out."

Naruto yelped at the voice behind him, jumping high into the air in surprise.

Either he had lost track of time or someone had decided to get to training early. Naruto turned around, wide eyed. He immediately saw Sasuke a few feet behind him with an eyebrow raised at Naruto's action's. "Sa-Sasuke... Wh-when did you get here?"

"Who can't you stop thinking about?" Sasuke asked instead of replying to Naruto's question.

"Ah-oh... N-no one! Hahahaha... I-I never said that, teme! You must be hearing things!" Naruto felt his face begin to flush as Sasuke just looked at him. That one look said it all, Sasuke wasn't buying that. But Naruto wasn't about to let his secret out. Who knew what would happen. He just secretly liked Sasuke... nobody needed to know that... He wasn't one of his fan girls...

Wait.

Am... am I like a fan girl?! Oh, Kami...

Somehow, that thought had never occurred to Naruto.

No... I can't be! I'm not squealing or chasing after him in public!

No, but you are fantasizing about fucking him. You have a fascinating imagination, Kit. You should do yourself a favor and follow Jiraya into the adult themed business, you'll make millions writing about some of those fantasies. The Kyuubi said with an extremely amused tone.

Naruto practically choked as Kurama replied to his thoughts, he hadn't expected him to be listening in just at that moment.

N-no! I'm not a pervert like him!

No, you're a bigger one.

I-I am not! Leave me alone!

Pervert.

Not!B-besides, those are private! I-if that makes me a pervert, then what does it make you for seeing them in my mind? I'm not pushing them at you!You want to see them! That makes you a mega pervert!

Naruto could feel the shock and indignation through their connection.

... Does not!

Kurama, the Mega Pervert! Wait, is mega bigger then super or is super bigger then mega?

...

Aha! I got it! Kurama, the Super Mega Pervert! The Bijuu that loves getting off on seeing his Jinchuuriki's sex fantasies!

I am going to kill you.

Super Mega Pervert!

Kurama retreated after that, closing Naruto completely off. Naruto swore that he could feel Kurama blushing before he'd left him completely.

Didn't know he could blush... Interesting...

"Ne, Sasuke, why are you up so early?" Naruto said out loud, but his mind was still on his win. Finally! He'd finally gotten the better of Kurama! That had never happened before, and the victory was sweet.

"What are you talking about, dobe? It's ten o'clock."

"Huh? Really? When did that happen?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, a small twitch at one corner of his mouth showing that he was holding back a smirk. "Hn. The world doesn't stop for you, dobe."

Naruto couldn't help but blush at the look that Sasuke gave him. "I-I know that, teme! I just didn't notice that much time had passed!"

S/N

"Sasuke, Naruto!" It was Sakura.

Her voice shattered Naruto's fantasy of heavy breathing, slapping flesh, and frenzied moaning like a fist going through a mirror, splintering the image into a million tiny pieces.

I... I really am a pervert... Pervy Sage, you took my innocence! I shouldn't have been left with you for so damn long!

Sasuke halted his movements, looking over his shoulder at the approaching kunoichi, eyebrow raised, before turning fully to face her.

Naruto walked over to them, he had been on the other side of the clearing from Sasuke trying to not go into fantasy land.

Needless to say, his attempts had been futile, especially with the raven so close.

"You guys, Lady Tsunade want's us in her office. Mission briefing." Sakura grinned at her two old team-mates, before turning away. Sasuke followed her, with Naruto just a few steps behind them.

"Is Kakashi-sensei going to be there?" Sasuke asked, closing the distance between Sakura and himself until they walked side by side.

Naruto kept his place slightly behind them, not even daring to open his mouth. Ever since he'd been back, Naruto had toned down his loudness. Part of it was his reaction to Sasuke, another part was how he felt a little weird being back. He'd been gone for so long and during that time, Sakura and Sasuke had changed a lot. At first, Naruto thought that he would get back and he'd fit in like the last piece of the puzzle, instead he'd felt like the last puzzle piece that went to a different puzzle entirely but was still trying to fit in the spot that was left.

"He's going to be there but I'm not sure if he'll be going on the mission. Shikamaru, Ino, Chōji, and Neji are going to be there too."

"Eh? What's the mission going to be?" Naruto finally spoke up after hearing that. With Neji being a Jōnin, and everyone else except Naruto being Chūnin, the mission had to be something big.

"No idea, we'll know when we get there." Sakura replied, looking over at Naruto. "Are you okay? You're face looks red..."

After those words, Naruto's blush intensified. No way was he going to tell them why his face was red. "What?! No, I'm fine!"

"Are you sure?"

"I'm fine! Hey, we're being to slow, let's hurry it up! Baa-chan's going to be mad if we get there late!" With that, Naruto hurried away from them, jumping straight up to the rooftops, and not stopping until he made it to the Tower and in through the window to the Hokage's office.

"Naruto! What did I tell you about using the window, brat!"

Naruto grinned sheepishly and placed his hands behind his head. "Opps, I forgot?"

Tsunade just shook her, trying to hide a smile. She had missed having Naruto around. "Surprisingly, you're the first one here."

"No fair, Baa-chan, I'm not like Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto pouted, and walked over to stand in front of her desk.

"Gaki, when have you ever been the first to get to a meeting?" She raised an eyebrow, a smirk playing at her lips as Naruto sputtered with indignation. "How has you're first week back been?" Tsunade asked, eyes going down to the paper work in front of her.

"It's been good." Naruto didn't elaborate. To be honest, he hadn't noticed much except for Sasuke. In fact, he hadn't seen anyone beside Sasuke, Sakura, Tsunade, Kakashi, and Iruka since he'd been back.

I really need to get my head out of my ass...

Just before Naruto was about to add something else, the door opened and in walked Sakura and Sasuke. They headed over to stand next to Naruto, both looking at him oddly. A second later, the door opened again and Neji, Shikamaru, Ino, Chōji, and Kakashi walked in.

"Neji! Shikamaru! Long time no see!" Naruto called out with a wide grin on his face. "Chōji, you have any extra chips on you?"

"You know I always do, Naruto! You don't even have to ask!"

"Naruto." Neji nodded to the blond, a small smile appeared on his face.

"About time we meet up." Shikamaru stated, lips twitching in a grin.

"Ino! Your hair is long!" Naruto couldn't help but state as the blonde kunochi's hair caught his eye.

"Idiot, of course it is! Do you think that I would keep it short? In your dreams!" Ino replied with a hair flip and a grin. "Where have you been anyway? You've been back a week from what I hear and you don't even say hello!"

"Haha, my bad. I've been sorta busy..." Naruto replied sheepishly with a forced chuckle, and a blush forming on his face as his looked over his shoulder and caught sight of Sasuke.

"All right, you guys can mingle later, for now listen up!" Tsunade interrupted, pulling a scroll out of the desk and placing it in front of her. "This is going to be a Search and Rescue mission. One of the Fire Daimyō's cousin's has gone missing, you will be find him and bring him back to Konoha. All the details are in the scroll."

"Troublesome." Shikamaru's trade mark word followed, and Tsunade shot him a look, but the Nara only slouched, and put his hands in his pockets, eyes hooded.

"Neji, you'll be the Captain, you all leave in two hours. Kakashi, stay." With that, she tossed the scroll over to the Hyūga. They all bowed and left, knowing a dismissal when they saw it.

"You just got me back and now you're sending me away again? I thought you loved me, Baa-chan, you're so mean!" Naruto, of course, was the exception.

"Gaki!"

"Maa, Naruto, leave before you get sent to do babysitting missions instead of a search and rescue." Kaskashi ruffled Naruto's hair before pushing him to the door.

"Hai! Bye, Baa-chan! Later, Kakashi-sensei!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Note: Sorry for the wait! I had to split this chapter up otherwise it'd had been a longer wait time! Sorry! And thank you for reading!**

**Chapter 2:**

The shouting match didn't let off for quite some time until, finally, Naruto was kicked out of the office. Funny enough, not even slamming into the wall and creating a huge crater made the grin on his face slip. Making the Godaime irritated was incredibly easy and always lifted his spirits considerably. After a bit of of dusting off of his pants, the blond noticed the empty hallway. It seemed like everyone else had already disappeared from the tower during the time he was having fun teasing Baa-chan. With a quiet chuckle, Naruto headed off to his apartment at top speed. Considering that he hadn't really eaten anything in a while, Naruto wanted to pack quickly so that he would have enough time to eat and relax before they headed off. Knowing Neji, he wouldn't stop for breaks until absolutely necessary. Unless the Hyuuga had changed during Naruto's nearly three year absence.

Better safe then sorry.

With gusto, Naruto barged into his place, not even noticing that he'd accidentally left the door unlocked from when he'd left earlier that morning. Like a mini whirlwind, he went around his room, then kitchen. The blond packed an extra pair of clothes, lots of extra kunai, shuriken, and food- just in case.

He'd learned a lot from his trip with Jiraiya, and one of those things was to bring extra because you didn't know when you were going to need it. That lesson had been a harsh one.

And Naruto learned how to make sealing scrolls.

Those were lifesavers.

Within moments, everything that he could possibly need was sealed into three different scrolls and the scrolls were placed inside the extra pouch he had so that the scrolls wouldn't be damaged by the kunai in his other pouch. He'd made that mistake once.

Lesson learned.

"All right! Ramen, here I come!" With a grin, Naruto left his apartment, slamming the door shut behind him. Once again, the blond forgot to lock it. After a quick stretch, he headed to his favorite ramen shop. He hadn't gotten the chance to eat there since he'd been back and it was high time he'd be able to taste the Food of the Gods once again. In fact, what better time then just before a mission?

During the time it took him to reach the stand, Naruto's thoughts wondered. He'd never had a hostage mission like this before... It would be a good experience. They'd probably have to infiltrate a base and search for the hostage.

He was extremely happy about going on it, he'd been feeling more then a little restless lately and his crush on Sasuke hadn't been helping much either so this little trip outside of the village would be enjoyable.

Until something popped into his head that he should have thought of a whole lot earlier.

He was going on a mission.

With _Sasuke_.

"Dobe."

"Gyahh!" Naruto jumped in to the air, his heart beating a million miles a minute- was it just him, or was that happening a lot lately? When he landed again, Naruto turned around and saw Sasuke right a few feet away, with a small smirk on his face. A really sexy smirk. A smirk that Naruto just wanted to k-

Stop right there hormones!

Sadly, Naruto couldn't control the blush that appeared so he went for distraction. That always worked. "Teme! Make some noise, o-or something! Anyways, w-what do you want?" Well... sort of.

Sasuke just looked at him, that damn smirk still playing at his lips, and Naruto had to stop himself from licking his own lips. Thankfully, it seemed like Sasuke didn't notice how often Naruto's gaze drifted down.

 **"You need to get laid."** Kurama's oh so very helpful advice made Naruto choke.

 _"Shut up!"_ Naruto shot back at the nine tails as he tried to get himself to think about something, anything else that would end that humiliating and all telling blush on his face.

"What? It's the truth."

"Are you already finished packing?" Sasuke's question brought Naruto's attention back to the real world and to the source of all of his current problems.

"Um, yeah. I wanted to get it done so that I could go get a bite to eat before we left." Naruto was glad when he didn't even stutter this time.

For a second, Sasuke just looked at him. "Hn, I'll go with you."

Naruto had already started to walk again with his arms behind his head when he heard those words. "Huh?"

With a sigh and a roll of his eyes, Sasuke began leading the way since Naruto was rooted to the spot. "I said that I'd go with you. I'm guessing you want ramen?"

"Uh, y-yeah!" This time, somehow, Naruto managed to control his blush as he followed the raven haired teen toward the ramen stand. In no time, they got there and for some reason, Sasuke let Naruto sit down first before he took the seat next to him.

"What can I get you?"

"Pork Ramen, please!"

"Miso Ramen."

"Coming right up! It's good seeing you again Naruto! Almost didn't recognize you. We've missed you around here."

"It's great to be back! No place has Ramen like you do, old man!" Naruto smiled. "Where's Ayame-chan?"

"She's off on a trip, wanted to see the world." Teuchi chuckled as he placed two bowls down, one if front of each teen.

"Aww man, really? That's awesome! And thanks old man! This looks delicious!"

"No problem, Naruto." With that, he walked over to another customer that had just entered.

Never once during his talk with Teuchi did Naruto forget the presence that was right next to him. Honestly, Naruto just didn't know what to say to Sasuke. The crush he had on the Uchiha made speaking to him extremely awkward. It didn't help that he got tongue tied and sounded like an idiot whenever Naruto actually did talk to him. He sighed a little in frustration then turned to his bowl. He had just murmured a quick thanks and snapped the chopsticks apart when Naruto felt something brush against the outside of his thigh.

Naruto froze, the chopsticks had been halfway towards his mouth when he registered the touch.

Sasuke's thigh had brushed up against his own.

Sasuke's thigh!

"You really do need to get laid."

"Sh-shut it!"

"Virgin."

"I said shut it! It's not like you've gotten any so you have absolutely **no** room to talk!"

After a few minutes of being unable to function properly, Naruto felt Sasuke looking at him with a raised eyebrow. With great difficulty, Naruto began to eat. He subtly inched his leg away from Sasuke so that he wouldn't freeze up again by accidentally brushing up against it.

Once more, there was a brush, but this time it was their arms.

Is it just me, or have these seats gotten closer together?

Naruto moved his body away again, trying not to be obvious about it. Every time he thought that he was far enough away, another accidental touch happened.

"Dobe." Sasuke's voice made Naruto glance up at him, a noodle sticking out of the corner of his mouth. Naruto adverted his eyes, feeling the blush coming back ten fold. The mission was going to fail and it would all be Naruto's fault because he couldn't keep his focus away from Sasuke. "It's almost time, we should head to the gates."

With a start, Naruto glanced up at the clock. Where had the time gone? Hadn't they just gotten there? And he'd only eaten one bowl of ramen! He hadn't even been talking! "Alright. Teuchi! We've got to get going! See you later!"

Naruto pulled out his wallet and left enough money for Sasuke and his meal before getting up. Sasuke raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment as they walked out and over to the gate where the rest of the team had already made it there.

"Hey, you finally made it! What took you two so long?!" Sakura yelled when she spotted them.

Naruto grinned sheepishly, but it was Sasuke who spoke. "We were eating. Dobe here took his time with just one bowl of ramen." At that, the other's stared in disbelief.

Naruto taking his time eating? Not likely.

Naruto taking his time eating one bowl of ramen? Absolutely impossible!

"Aww! You guys were on a date!" Ino squealed, she ran up to Naruto and pinched his cheek.

"Huh? What?" Naruto sputtered, his face turning red yet again.

Neji interrupted before it could turn messy. "Alright, quiet down everyone. We're heading towards Sound. It'll take us a couple of days to get there but we need to scout the area on our way for possible hideouts so it'll take even longer. As far as we know, the hostage is still alive. His exact location is unknown, that's why we need to investigate." Neji stated, before turning on his heel and setting off at a quick run. The rest of the group set off after him. "Naruto, Sasuke- you two take scouting duty."

"Hn." Was Sasuke's only reply before he pealed ahead of the group and towards the left.

"You got it, Neji!"Naruto gave him a two finger salute before going ahead and to the right of Sasuke's direction. A quick hop, and Naruto was in the tree tops, the group quickly disappearing behind him as he doubled his speed.

Normally, Naruto would have preferred the company of others instead of the solo scouting task but this time, scouting was better. This way, the rest of the group wouldn't notice that Naruto was preoccupied with thinking of other things.

Namely Sasuke.

Naruto slapped himself before determinedly forcing his thoughts away from Sasuke and back towards his duty. Without having to look at the Uchiha constantly, he might even be able to manage keeping thought of him away.

For a few hours, everything was quiet and Naruto saw nothing. Even after going crossing the guard posts, everything remained normal.

It was weird. Usually a mission never ran smoothly from the beginning. Maybe this meant that this one would end in the opposite way then they tended to.

Soon, the sun started to set and Naruto headed back to the main group. When they came into his view it looked like they had already started on setting up camp.

 _Neji_ _has loosened up, then._ Naruto thought with a grin. He hopped down from the tree and landed next to the small fire that Sakura had built.

"Naruto, can you go get me some water? Here, take this." Sakura handed Naruto a pot and pushed him towards the small stream that could be heard.

"Sure!" Naruto agreed. Even if he'd said no, Sakura would have pushed him to get the water. With an inward sigh, Naruto stretched his arms above his head to loosen up his muscles.

Sakura glanced around the camp looking a little bit worried. "Have you seen Sasuke?"

"Nah, but he shouldn't be too far, he was a little bit ahead of me." Naruto reassured her. The blond walked towards the stream, not watching where he was going and he finally let his mind drift off to the one person he'd been keeping himself from even thinking about. Luckily, at least with this simple task, he could get the water and think of other things while doing it. He barley paused as he leaned over to dip the pot into the running water, his mind instantly fazing into one of his fantasies.

Sasuke appeared out of no where, standing just a few feet away. The morning air was chilly and Naruto could see the other teen's breath as it left his mouth. It looked like mist as it dissipated into the air. Naruto couldn't help but let his eyes wonder from the mist to Sasuke's eyes, then mouth.

"Naruto, I've been waiting for you." The raven haired teen drifted closer to where Naruto was standing. He looked like he was gliding, his feet made little sound as he placed his feet on the ground.

"Huh? Really?" Naruto smiled nervously as he watched the Uchiha. Sasuke looked like a cat, the way he was walking. Almost like he was stalking his prey.

"Hn." Suddenly, Sasuke was right in front of Naruto's face. Their lips were inches away from each other, Naruto could feel every breath that Sasuke took, air fluttered against his lips before the gap between then disappeared and there was skin touching, teasing, licking. Naruto's tongue darted out as his hands took a hold of Sasuke's hips. He dug his fingers in a little, gripping and bringing his body closer to his own. The heat radiated between them, and Sasuke's mouth parted, granting entry.

The fantasy ended abruptly as he tripped over a rock hidden under a small pile of leaves.

"Ahh-!" His yell was cut off.

The pot went flying and the water exploded out of its prison. It showered Neji, Sakura and Shikamaru, making their hair stick to their faces. The three turned to glare in Naruto's direction but froze in shock.

Naruto didn't notice this however because he had landed on someone, lower bodies pressed together, Naruto's arms on either side of his head, holding his upper body up and away from the one underneath. Their lips were meshed together.

Cerulean locked on ebony.

Sasuke.

It was Sasuke that was beneath him. Sasuke's heart beat that Naruto could feel- his _heat._

His lips are really soft...

For a second, Naruto couldn't help himself, he parted his lips and nibbled on Sasuke's plump bottom lip. It was velvety, and Naruto let his tongue dart out to taste it. Then, with a start, Naruto pulled away. His hand reached up to brush it against his mouth, his eyes wide. They were still locked on the ebony ones.

Naruto was expecting a glare, a shout, a noise of disgust. He didn't get it.

Sasuke's eyes _flamed_. But it wasn't anger that Naruto saw. No... it was _want_.

 _Lust_.

But that wasn't possible. It had to be his imagination, because there was no way that Sasuke would _want_ him. All he could do was shake his head in disbelief.

"Naruto! Be careful, you idiot!" Sakura's scream snapped Naruto out of his stupor, but not in time to dodge the fist flying at him.

With a grunt, he went off of his feet and crashed into the tree behind him. He slowly slid down until he plopped on the ground. "Ow." Naruto reached up with one hand and rubbed where his head had slammed into the tree trunk. The world swirled for a moment before he got shakily to his feet.

"Sasuke, are you alright?" Sakura bent over Sasuke, eyeing him critically.

Sasuke's reply was short. "Hn."

"That's good." Sakura smiled at him, holding her hand out to help Sasuke to his feet. When Sasuke was standing, she turned towards Naruto, her face in a scowl. "Naru- where'd he go?"

Naruto walked back towards the direction of the stream. He shook his head every once in a while. The blond found a secluded spot and plopped himself down. Immediately, he pressed the palms of his hands into his eyes, watching the colors bursting behind his eyelids.

He had _kissed_ Sasuke. _Kissed_ him! Right there in the open and in front of a lot of people! What the hell had he been thinking?! Even if nobody else saw him kiss Sasuke on purpose, Sasuke still felt it.

 _"What the fuck did I do?"_ Naruto didn't know that he had sent that to Kurama until the kyuubi replied.

"You kissed Sasuke. Almost shoved your tongue down his throat from what I could see."

 _"Shut it! Ugh! Why did I do that? He's never going to want to talk to me again!"_ The blond moaned in despair.

 **"I'm not so sure about that, he looked like he enjoyed it."** Kurama chuckled. **"He probably wants more."**

"Har, har, very funny Kurama."

Naruto sighed, bringing his hands away from his face and letting his eyes drift up to the stars. Why did he have to have these feelings? They made things so hard.

"I bet if you let Sasuke take care of it, it wouldn't be hard."

Naruto felt his face burn. _"Kurama!"_

**A/N: Thank you for reading, faving, and or following! Thank you for the reviews:**

**Evangeline039:Thank you! Yay! I'm glad you loved it! Hope you still do!**

**Guest: Thank you so much for the review! I'm glad you enjoyed it! I'm glad you liked what I did there, honestly, its how I would feel after a long absence from my friends(and I did feel that way when it happened), and I figured it would fit better then the 'everything's like it used to be' option. Its going to be incredibly hard for him, and will get worse XD.**

**Hope you guys liked this chapter and let me know what you think! Sorry if there's any mistakes, my Beta doesn't like Naruto and I feel bad forcing him to beta this XD. I already make him read yaoi, I think he deserves a break haha.**


	4. Chapter 4

Night fell, and still Naruto hadn't felt the need to return to the camp. He stayed near the river, getting lost in his thoughts and ignoring-for the most part- Kurama's snide remarks.

Sleep was a word not in Naruto's vocabulary that night. For hours, Naruto stayed up, just gazing up at the stars that could be seen through the canopy and listening to the small stream behind him. He knew that even if he tried to go to sleep that he wouldn't be able to manage it. Sasuke was is his mind, non-stop.

The look in those eyes...

The taste of those lips...

His eyes...

His lips...

The feeling of Sasuke's body on his would not go away and he seriously doubted that it ever would. It was all thoroughly branded into his mind for life.

Maybe during their next Taijutsu only spar, he'd be able to fake fall on Sasuke for another feel...? Or would that be too much? Especially after that accidental kiss that was just better then he'd ever dreamed to think would ever happen.

Through it all, Naruto firmly ignored the chuckling coming from deep in his mind. It would be worse if he replied, way worse.

He still couldn't believe how his body had betrayed him by giving away what he wanted. Hopefully, Sasuke would just think it was his imagination... Because if Sasuke didn't think it was just his imagination, somehow, Naruto doubted that he would ever get close to him every again...

Naruto couldn't help but let out a frustrated groan... He could hope... right?

"Kit, he liked it! Just confess already!" Kurama interrupted Naruto again.

This time Naruto replied. "Kurama, there's absolutely no way that Sasuke likes me like that!"

"You are an idiot." Kurama mumbled in disgust.

After that, Naruto ignored him completely.

The next day, Naruto drifted into camp before everyone woke up to ask Neji if he could go ahead and scout the area in front of them. The Hyuuga had been the one to have the last watch of the night and he seemed releived to see Naruto walking over to him.

"Are you alright, Naruto?" Neji asked as soon as Naruto stopped right in front of him.

"Huh? Oh yeah! Hey, Neji... I was wondering if I could just go scout ahead... right now...?" Naruto trailed off, his eyes darting over to where Sasuke was sleeping and then back to Neji.

"You want scouting duty?"Neji raised his eyebrow, pupil-less eyes boring into Naruto, making him feel a little bit uncomfortable at the intensity. For a few minutes, he didn't say anything, then. "Would you like to have it for the rest of the mission?"

Naruto nodded his head, eyes once again darting over ther the sleeping Uchiha. "I keep getting distracted when I'm with everyone so I think it would be best if I went solo..."

"Naruto, I can't let you go ahead too much. You have to at least camp with us during the night." Neji narrowed his eyes at the blond in front of him.

A sigh left Naruto's mouth. "That's fine. I'll send clones back every few hours just so you know that everythings clear."

For a minute, Neji said nothing, then slowly nodded his head. "Once we reach Sound in a few days, make sure you send out extra clones ahead of your location. Fall back towards us when you do that, I can't let you go into enemy territory by yourself."

With a small grin, Naruto happily agreed. "Thanks' Neji, I'll see you later!"

With that, the blond jumped into the tree's, disappearing quickly from Neji's range of vision.

"Yes, Sasuke?" Neji asked, turning back to the Uchiha who had been awake that whole time, eyes locked on the blonds back.

The raven haired teen just shook his head and began to pack his things up, ignoring his leader's knowing stare.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

That day had started like the previous one, nothing suspicious, nothing threatening. Naruto was a bit more on edge though, because they were very close to the Sound border and should be going across it either later on that day or very early the next. Neji had discussed it with him before leaving to scout ahead again that morning.

It had been quiet for most of the day, but just an hour before he was planning to turn back to the group, he felt something spike in the clearing just ahead of him. Senses immediately on alert, he moved in, cloaking his presence as much as possible.

Naruto jumped down from the tree tops, sliding to a stop, eyes darting around the area. After a few moments complete silence, his tense shoulders relaxed as nothing happened.

"Weird, thought I sensed something..." Naruto shrugged to himself and jumped up to the treetops again. With a with flick of his hands, he made a few clones of himself and sent them back the way he'd come. He was at least an hour ahead of the group, farther then he should have been but Naruto ignored that part for the moment. Instead of stopping for a break, he slowed down a bit.

Again, Naruto made a few more clones, and sent half of them ahead of him. For the last two, he sent to the right and left respectively, with orders to disperse if they found nothing for an hour.

"Kit, would you stop ignoring me and listen?!" Naruto heard Kurama's grumble and finally gave in.

"What do you want?!" Naruto asked while jumping to the next branch a bit faster then before.

"There was something there, I sensed it."

With those words, Naruto fell to the forest floor. "So, that wasn't just me? Could you still sense it after I lost it?"

"No, Kit. It was there for a split second but disappeared completely after that."

"I should go back then, I don't want the other's to get there and fall into a trap or something." Naruto murmured out loud, before turning back.

"I'll keep my senses on alert... there was something there and I don't like it, not one bit." Kurama grumbled as Naruto ran back at top speed. When they were close, he slowed down, eyes darting all over, trying to see if he could spot the thing from earlier.

"I can feel faint traces of it... go over to the right, there's something by that tree."

Cautiously, Naruto walked over and spotted it from the corner of his eyes. Carefully, he walked over and squatted down, brushing away the leaves covering the flashing object. It was a pair of glasses. Naruto frowned at them, he couldn't sense anything coming from the glasses, but it was odd finding them there...

"Can you feel anything from them?" Naruto asked, his hand hovering above them, not wanting to touch them until he got confirmation that there wasn't anything malicious in them.

"There's nothing-just a faint chakra residue... it's safe enough to pick up." Kurama said and Naruto picked up the round shaped glasses. As he gazed at them, something about them sparked a sign of recognition.

Had he seen them before?

Just then, he felt the memories of his clones that he'd sent back to the group hit him. Neji was going to order them to stop for the day, and he wanted Naruto to start heading back towards them.

With one more look around the clearing to see if he could spot anything else, Naruto turned away, putting the glasses in his pouch where he kept his sealing scrolls.

Later, he walked into the camp, spotting everything already well on its way to being done.

"No fire tonight, we're too close to the border for them to not notice it." Naruto suggested to Neji, walking over to the Hyuuga's side.

Neji nodded in agreement. "Did you spot anything unusual?"

Naruto hesitated for a second. "There was something but it disappeared before I could find out what it was." Just a few seconds after that, Naruto felt the memories of the rest of his clones hit him. "My clones found the border and went a little bit further in. They spotted a base and it seemed heavily defended. I'm not sure if the hostage is there but it's worth a shot to scout it."

Neji stayed silent for a few moments. "Are you tired, Naruto?"

The blond just shook his head. It took a lot to tire him out and running for most of the day certainly wasn't strenuous in any way.

"Good. Sasuke, come here."

Neji turned his head and Naruto felt his stomach drop.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, nonononono.

"Sasuke, I need you and Naruto to scout out the base just across the Sound border. I need you two to get in and get out without raising the alarm. We'll disassemble the camp and go meet you. Depending on what you find, we'll act."

Naruto snuck a glance over at Sasuke as Neji spoke and inwardly groaned. He hoped this wouldn't distract him but had the feeling that he would be hoping in vain.

"Hai, come on dobe." Sasuke glanced over at Naruto, their eyes meeting.

Naruto nodded, trying his hardest to keep his face from turning into a tomato, and tearing his eyes away from that gaze. "Right! Ah wait- don't call me that teme!"

"Never, dobe." Sasuke smirked, and gestured for Naruto to go ahead. "You know where the base it."

"Ah, right!" Naruto jumped away, heading for the base with Sasuke just a few steps behind. With all of his power, Naruto kept his mind focused sternly on the mission. That lasted for about ten minutes.

"Why so quiet?" Sasuke's voice tore Naruto's focus away in just seconds.

"Wh-what do you m-mean?" Naruto stuttered. "Ack!" His left foot missed the next branch by a long shot, and his right managed to skim the branch with his toes. Needless to say, Naruto felt himself fall face first down to the forest floor, with no way to stop himself in time. Suddenly, he felt someone's arms wrap around his torso, stopping his fall with inches left between his nose and the ground.

"You're so clumsy, dobe."

He heard from Sasuke as the other teen's arms pulled him upright again. Naruto felt as Sasuke's muscles flexed and tightened around him, the hard muscle pressed deliciously against his stomach. His heart pounded loudly in his ears, and Naruto shivered, eyes closed as he locked that feeling into his mind. Safe, he felt so safe. "Ah... thanks, Sasuke..." The whispered words left Naruto's mouth, wishing that those arms would stay there for just a few more moments.

"Usuratonkachi." The endearing way that Sasuke said that made Naruto's heart speed up, and for the first time, he didn't immediately retaliate. Instead, Naruto's eyes shot open and connected with Sasuke's own. There was a shock of electricity between them and the arms that Sasuke still had around him tightened, bringing Naruto flush against Sasuke's body.

"Sa-Sasuke...?" Naruto felt the world spin around them. This was just a dream, right? He must have face planted and been knocked out... He must have... This was just a dream. A wonderful dream... A dream that would end soon because it wasn't real.

It wasn't real...

But it felt oh so real.

Sasuke lowered his head slightly. He brought one hand up to tilt Naruto's face up. Sasuke's eyes trailed down towards Naruto's lips, and Naruto couldn't help but dart his tongue out to lick his bottom lip. Sasuke watched this action intently, before suddenly, his own lips descended onto Naruto's.

Naruto couldn't hold back the gasp as their lips met, and Sasuke took the opportunity to dart his tongue into Naruto mouth. This time Naruto groaned, and opened his mouth a bit wider to let Sasuke explore it better. After a few minutes, Naruto couldn't take it anymore, and he had to pull back for air. He opened his eyes, not even noticing that he'd closed them as soon as Sasuke's soft lips had brushed against his.

Sasuke's lip turned up at the corner at the look on Naruto's face, his cheeks flushed and his chest heaving. The look in Naruto's eyes were heavenly, and Sasuke couldn't help but lean down for another kiss, this time he was a bit rougher, he wanted Naruto, wanted him to be his.

The moan that slipped out of the blonds lips made it clear that he wanted Sasuke just as much.

Suddenly the tables were turned and it was Naruto that dominated the kiss, his tongue slipping into Sasuke's mouth, exploring every nook and cranny that he could. Naruto shifted, bringing his arm up and burying his hands into Sasuke's black locks. It was soft and silky, slipping easily between Naruto's fingers.

When they broke away again, it was Sasuke's turn to gasp for breath.

"Naruto, we need to get going..." The look in Sasuke's eyes burned. It was obvious that he wanted to keep kissing Naruto.

It hit Naruto. "W-wait... this isn't a dream?!"

The chuckle that left Sasuke showed his amusement. "No, this isn't a dream."

"I told you so!" Kurama yelled loudly. "That's what you get for not listening to me!"

"You were taking too long, so I decided to beat you to it." Sasuke smirked.

The blush that erupted on Naruto's face was unavoidable.

"Come on, how close are we to the base?" Sasuke pressed one more kiss on Naruto's lips before pulling away.

"Ah..." For a second, Naruto was in shock. Then he shook it away, his face spreading in a wide grin. "We're almost there."

They took off into the darkness of the trees. With in a few miles, the trees gave way to fields of rice paddies. The duo slowed down, fading into the night shadows as they made their way to the base that Naruto's clones had found hours earlier.

"Is that it?" Sasuke whispered as they neared the building.

Naruto just nodded with a quick glance at Sasuke's profile. The shadows obscured his features but Naruto could still see the outline of Sasuke's face and the sparkle in those ebony eyes.

"I can't spot anyone. At all... That's odd. My clones saw that they sensed multiple chakra signatures throughout the building..." Naruto couldn't help bit frown. There was just something odd about it...

"Hn. Let's get a closer look, then we'll come back here and wait for the others." Sasuke stated, taking charge of the situation.

"Hai." Naruto nodded and followed Sasuke's lead, keeping just a few steps behind him.

Neither Shinobi noticed the menacing presence watching them from the distance.


	5. Chapter 5

The hallways were silent. No sounds could be heard, not even the whisper of mice. The two infiltrators glanced at each other. Blue locked on black. The questions flew between them without a word leaving their lips.

Sasuke's brow was furrowed, eyes scanning the area around them carefully, senses open, trying to see, to feel something.

Anything.

"Split up?" Naruto whispered the question, his own senses open. Like Sasuke, Naruto couldn't even feel a flicker of chakra.

Sasuke was silent for a moment, Naruto could see the way that his shoulders tensed as soon as Naruto voiced the question.

"No. This is too suspicious. I'd rather we stayed together."

With that, they made their way through the first floor of the base. Door after door, from one hallway to the next, they found nothing.

Everything was suspiciously silent.

"Should we go back to the meeting spot? It's almost time. And I don't think we should go farther without telling the others..." Naruto said quietly, eyes darting around.

Sasuke quickly nodded in agreement and they both slipped back. When they reached the meeting spot, the rest of the group was already there waiting for them.

"Anything?" Neji asked as soon as the two reached the others.

"Nothing, but we didn't go to far." Sasuke replied for the both of them.

Neji nodded and he turned to the Ino-Shika-Cho trio. "Lady Tsunade said you three would have a separate mission, information gathering... Correct?"

Shikamaru sighed, a 'Troublesome' escaping before he replied to the Hyuuga. "That's right. She told us to search for anything that might help us figure out more about what Orochimaru is doing."

"Don't stray too far off. Even with additional missions, we can't let ourselves be split off too much. Always keep radio contact. Same goes for you, Sakura."

"Don't worry, I'll stay in touch." Sakura said as she fixed her ear piece in place so that it wouldn't slip out.

"Eeeeh? You're doing a separate mission too Sakura?" Naruto broke in a little shocked since it was the first he'd heard of it.

"Yes. I'll be collecting all their medical research papers and test information."

"Sasuke will go with you." Neji stated, turning his head towards the building. He didn't noticed the flash of disappointment that crossed Naruto's face, or the very small frown that vanished quickly on Sasuke's.

"Naruto and I will sweep the building for the hostage. If one of the rest of you find him, inform us immediately." Everyone nodded agreement, eyes trained on Neji. "If you are spotted before we clear the building of the hostage, incapacitate and see if they have information on the hostage. If the enemy is stronger, retreat and regroup. These people are strong and usually there's a group or more then one. I don't want anyone to face one of them one on three or worse."

Everyone nodded and less then a minute later, everyone split up. Naruto gazed longingly at Sasuke's retreating back before turning away.

His search began and just like the one before, he found nothing. He opened doors and snuck through corridors, but still nothing. His blue eyes shifted from side to side, darting from one place to another. A couple of times, he'd even thought he'd seen someone but when he'd investigated, no one was there.

"Any luck, Fox?" The voice was loud and Naruto winced in pain. He adjusted the volume so that he wouldn't go deaf any time soon.

"Negative." Naruto replied as he opened a door with a small chakra signature. A rat scurried across the floor and he stepped farther into the room. For some reason it was filled with mirrors. Everywhere he looked, he saw his reflection. A poor imitation of his shadow clone jutsu.

"Naruto." Sasuke said from behind him and Naruto jumped in surprise. Somehow, Naruto hadn't noticed the other there at all.

He turned and saw the raven haired teen a few feet away. Naruto's eyes widened and his heart started beating a bit more quickly at the others closeness. "Sasuke? What are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be with Sakura?" Naruto felt the blush already creeping up his face at the small smirk that appeared on Sasuke's face.

"It's alright, she isn't alone." He replied, brushing a finger across Naruto's lower lip. "I came to help you out." The smirk on his face made Naruto's toes curl.

Sasuke leaned in and captured Naruto's lip. Surprised, Naruto let out a small gasp, then closed his eyes. He was in heaven, and thoughts of the mission just flew out the window. It was getting heated, and Sasuke was slowly grinding against Naruto's pelvis.

"W-wait... S-sasuke..." Naruto managed to break appart from the kiss. "The mi-mission..."

Just then, Naruto heard something. Someone crying, sobbing.

The two shinobi paused, heads tilted to the side. Both nodded in confirmation to each other, then ran quietly down the next hall where the noise was coming from. Naruto was more then a little relieved, there was a time a place for... that and it wasn't during a dangerous mission.

It was odd. Sasuke never jeopardized missions like that...

The thought drifted away almost as soon as he thought it.

As they got closer to the noise, they finally sensed something. The chakra signature was faint, but they could both tell in was a civilian signature. It wasn't strong enough to be anything else. A door was open, the crying seemed to be coming from inside. They both slowed to a stop, and Naruto peered in through the door. It looked like a medical room. Two steel tables were in the middle of the room. Cabinets lined the walls with stuff that glinted in the light. When Naruto stepped in, and got closer, he noticed that they were scalpels, mini saws, needles, syringes and other things that were more then a little disturbing to his eyes.

While Naruto was busy being mortified but what looked to be torture devises, Sasuke headed over to the whimpering noises that they could still both hear.

"Found him."

Sasuke's words had Naruto heading over to him where he spotted the man strapped to a chair. He should probably radio Sakura but the thought slipped away as soon as it crossed his mind.

"Is he our guy?" Naruto asked as he helped Sasuke untie the now unconscious man from his chains and ropes.

"Not sure, we'll let Neji find out."

Naruto nodded in agreement. Sasuke placed the man on his back, then headed back out of the room.

"It's creepy how they have no windows." Naruto muttered as he scanned around them feeling nervous. He got the feeling that they were being followed, but he couldn't sense anyone even near them.

"Hn."Sasuke agreed. They picked up the pace and made it out of the base. A few minutes after that, they were back in their meeting spot. The rest of the group was already there which was weird because they were supposed to radio in that they'd found a possible hostage and the others had other things to do...

"We found someone, but I'm not sure if its him or not." Sasuke placed the man gently on the ground, Neji brought out the scroll and glanced at the picture. They matched.

"That was easy."

"Too easy." Naruto muttered to himself. There was something wrong with the current picture. Suddenly, there was pain. There was an intense burning sensation right where his seal was, his vision started spinning.

And the illusion broke.

A grunt of pain escaped Naruto's lips, he blinked hard. He couldn't move, his body felt heavy, and it was getting hard to breath. He was laying on the hard ground, in the mirror room. Someone was with him and it wasn't Sasuke.

"Naru-chan, welcome. Finally broke the genjutsu I see. It took you a while, but all the better for me."

"Oroch-?" Naruto groaned, twitching as another wave of pain hit him, and then, everything turned black.


	6. Chapter 6

Sasuke made his way to their rendezvous location, a man clinging weakly to his back. He spotted Neji first, he was standing, scanning the area with a frown on his face.

The Uchiha soon had a similar frown as he looked over the group one more time.

"Where's Naruto...?" He asked as he placed the man gently on the ground.

Shikamaru shook his head. "He's not answering. I've been trying to contact him since we got here. I don't know whether he accidentally turned it off or if it broke. I'm going ba-"

There was a massive explosion. It threw everyone off of their feet and into trees or the ground.

"Naruto..." Sasuke grunted, pushing himself to his feet and sprinting full tilt at the burning building.

Everyone but Sakura followed. She bent to treat the man that Sasuke had found. After she was sure that his wounds were healed, she joined them, the man slung over her shoulder and a worried look on her face.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The first thing that Naruto noticed when he came too, was his inability to move his hands. When he tried again with the same result, that was when he noticed that he couldn't move his body at all.

Someone was carrying him.

Before he could panic, his world went dark once more.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Stars... Why was there stars? Wait... it's not stars, it was getting lighter...

Naruto blinked rapidly, his eyes took a while to focus, everything was too blurry to make out right away.

When things started to take shape again, Naruto noticed that he was staring at a ceiling. It wasn't a hospital ceiling, and it definitely wasn't his bedroom ceiling.

Where the hell am I? Naruto thought to himself, frowning in puzzlement. Or at least he tried to. His face muscles weren't cooperating with him. After a few more blinks, the fogginess was gone, but the ceiling still didn't look familiar. He tried getting up, but the only thing that moved were his fingers and all they did was twitch.

"Ah, I see that you've finally woken up, Naru-chan... Kukuku."

Naruto's eyes widened in shock. That voice...!

Memories rushed back of three years before.

The Chuunin exams.

Sasuke.

"Orochimaru..." Naruto breathed out, not able to talk any louder. He felt a growl try to escape from his throat. "What the hell are you doing? L-let me go, you b-bastard!"

He tried to sit up, to move, to do anything.

But it was in vain. His body stayed limp.

Orochimaru watched with amusement. His lip twitched with every grunt that left his mouth. Naruto snarled at him, and that only seemed to make the snake giddy. "Kukuku, now why would I let you go just when I got you where I want you? Because of you, I lost Sasuke."

"Yeah? So what?!If you think I'd ever let him get close to your slimy hands, you're stupid!" Naruto ground out, eyes narrowing.

"Kuku, well Naruto, this is payback. You're going to be Kabuto's lab rat. I'll enjoy watching you scream." With that, Orochimaru walked away. There was the sound of a door opening and closing, then there was silence.

Naruto strained to hear if anyone was in the room with him. He couldn't hear a thing.

With a grunt, Naruto tried to lift his hand to his face.

Kurama? Kurama?

After a few moments of silence, Naruto began to panic.

"He's blocked."

Naruto started in surprise. He hadn't heard anyone else come into the room. "Who..?"

A grey haired man with glasses stepped up to him. Naruto recognized him immediately. "Kabuto..."

"Naruto, it's so nice the see that you remember me." The grin on his face was as creepy as Orochimaru's. "I see you found my glasses. I thank you for returning them to me, they are my favorite pair."

"Blocked..?" Naruto frowned. "You blocked him? If I had known that, I would have smashed them to bits."

Kabuto chuckled, amused at Naruto 's childish response. "Of course. I needed a baseline for my experiments and I didn't want the Kyuubi to interfere with my research. His healing powers will still be available to you for the moment. You'll need them."

Kabuto walked around Naruto, studying him. After a few moments, he took out a pair of scissors and cut off his jacket and shirt.

"What the hell! Leave me alone!" Naruto yelled, trying to get away.

"Why would I do that?" Kabuto smiled, walking over to a trey that was set on a table a few feet away. When he came back he was holding a scalpel in his gloved hands.

Naruto's eyes widened. "Wha-"

The scalpel touched the skin just below his ribs and glided down.

Blood welled up, and it ran down his stomach, tinting his body red.

"You're crazy..." Naruto gritted his teeth, not wanting to scream. He wasn't going to give him that satisfaction.

He wouldn't.

"Everyone is a little crazy. Besides, this is fascinating." Kabuto murmured, eyes following the line that was already healed. If it weren't for the blood, you wouldn't be able to tell that the flash had been sliced open. "I wonder how far I can go without you dying?"

The scalpel dug deeper and Naruto couldn't help but let a gasp escape his lips.

After that, Naruto clamped his teeth together and closed his eyes. To get him mind off of the pain that came from his chest, he thought about Sasuke.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Nothing.

Sasuke grunted as he jumped over a crumpled wall. "Naruto.." He wouldn't give up. He'd go through every piece of burning material until he found Naruto.

He wouldn't give up. Not after he'd just been able to call Naruto his...

"Where are you..?"


	7. Chapter 7

Warning: Blood, gore, rape(implied) and torture in the following chapter!

Chapter 6:

"It's been weeks since he was taken." Tsunade frowned with worry. "We need to keep looking but we can't let the other Hidden Villages know that we don't have our Jinchuuriki. And I have to cut back on the search parties because of the Chuunin exams... Damn it!" She cussed. sometimes she hated being the Hokage.

Shizune looked down sadly. "He's not going to like that..."

"Nobody will." Tsunade sighed in agreement, wishing she had a bottle of Sake. Sasuke would raise Hell, and she half wished she could let him do it. "Send them in."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Sasuke.

He had to think of Sasuke. Had to fill his mind with Sasuke. He could block everything. He could...His Sasuke..

The door clanged open.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Blue eyes.

Blue eyes that were usually bright with life and determination were clouded by pain. A frown marred the usually open, and happy face. Grimaces appeared whenever the agony became too much, whenever he couldn't control the muscles in his face. It never seemed to stop.

After what seemed like an eternity, the pain stopped. Naruto could feel the way his body healed. It was slow progress but it was progress nonetheless. It showed that Kurama was still connected to him, even though Naruto couldn't hear him. It had to be something they did, maybe a seal.

Little by little, Naruto noticed his surroundings. He was still in the room, strapped to a table. For the moment, he was alone. From past experience, he knew that it wouldn't last long.

Taking the opportunity given to him, Naruto lifted his head and glanced down at his chest. His skin had grown back, though it looked raw. Naruto winced as the memory of Kabuto slicing at his chest popped into his head. With a grunt, his head fell back onto the table with a dull 'thump'.

Thoughts of Sasuke swirled through Naruto's mind. He wondered if they really had gotten together or if it had just been a genjutsu. The more he thought about it, the more he was sure that it had all been in his mind.

But what if it hadn't been just in his mind?

If... if it were true...

He could hope that they would find him soon. Or maybe they'd make a mistake and he'd get away.

He could hope...

"How long have I been here?" Naruto whispered to himself, eyes closed as another throb of pain went through his body. Time hadn't exactly been steady, and Kabuto had started getting more creative in his ability to see how much damage he could do to Naruto without killing him.

Naruto had known that the two Missing-nin had been sadistic, but he never thought it would be like that.

His body hurt.

"Ah, Naru-chan. You've finally decided to rejoin the land of the living, I see." A voice purred out from where the door was located. Naruto hadn't even heard it open.

"Why are you doing this to me?! As soon as I get out of here I'm going to kick your ass!" Naruto growled out, eyes narrowing at the pale skinned monster.

Orochimaru's lip twitched, eyes running up and down Naruto's body as he lay on the table. "Kabuto hasn't broken you I see. Perfect." He then took out a bottle of ink and a brush. Orochimaru dipped the brush into the ink and started drawing something on Naruto's chest. The same spot that Kabuto was obsessed with cutting away.

"Break me? Never." Naruto ground out as he tried to move and mess up anything that he could. His small movements didn't seem to faze the Snake.

Orochimaru nodded in agreement, eyes amused. "Kabuto will never be able to break you." Suddenly, he leaned his face closer to Naruto's. His yellow eyes caught Naruto's widened blue ones. His tongue slid out and licked the underside of Naruto's chin. "But I will."

OoOoOoOoOoOooOoOoOoOoO

Naruto felt the heaviness lift a little. He hadn't been able to properly think of anything for a while. His body had hurt before, now it burned. Orochimaru had finished placing a seal on him before things had taken a turn for the worst. The blond shivered in disgust as the memories assaulted him.

He really needed to get away. He wasn't going to break but Naruto wasn't sure if he'd be able to stay sane if he was kept too long. The memories hit again, and Naruto heaved. He barely managed to turn his head enough so that his vomit flew over the side of the table.

Vaguely, Naruto wondered why his wounds hadn't healed yet.

The thought slipped away as his stomach lurched again.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The scream tore through room, echoing, tripling the sound of pain. Naruto gritted his teeth, cutting the scream. He couldn't let them know how much pain he was going through. He didn't want to give them the satisfaction.

"Naru-chan, I'm sorry. Did that hurt?" The question implied worry, but the tone had satisfaction written all over it.

"Go fuck yourself!" Naruto said through gritted teeth, eyes nearly screwed shut from the pain coursing through his body.

"Now, now, that's not very nice of you, Naru-chan..." Orochimaru chuckled and Naruto heard him grab something.

The gasp of pain that left Naruto's lips was undetainable. The pain increased as the chuckles that left the pale lips grew louder.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"You are a fascinating creature, Naruto-chan." Kabuto stated as he leaned closer to Naruto's tied down arm. He had sliced the skin and peeled it back, exposing the muscles, veins and tendons running down his arm. "Without the seal on, your skin would already be healed... with it, it's still healing but slower. I can see as it's pulling itself together, attracting the part it supposed to be connected too... The perks of having a chakra monster sealed inside you are incredible."

"Why are you doing this?" Naruto gritted his teeth as he watched the way Kabuto studied him. He had asked the question numerous times since the day he was captured. They never gave him an answer, and in all honesty, he wasn't expecting one right then either.

To his pain fuzzled mind, the answer didn't register right away.

"Wha...?"

Kabuto raised an eyebrow, a smirk playing at his lips. "I want to see if I can figure out how I can replicate your instant healing ability, without sealing a chakra beast inside of me."

"You'll never be able to." Naruto smirked at him.

Kabuto gazed at him before a smirk appeared on his own face. "I don't expect to but you're a lovely test subject." He raised his hand, a scalpel gripped securely in it. "I wonder... Will I be able to see your heart beating if I open your ribcage...? Will it close before I get the chance to?"

Naruto felt the blood drain from his face.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

His chest hurt. Almost like it was still spread open.

No. He couldn't think about it. He couldn't think about it. He had to calm down, he couldn't panic. Not now, not while they could see or would see. He couldn't. Naruto could tell his breathing had grown louder, more ragged. He had to stop.

Stop.

Calm down.

Again, the memory of the pain, the image of his bones and his heart shoved itself into his mind. Don't think about it! Stop! Calm down!

Naruto dug his fingernails into his palms, feeling the blood well up. Think of something else. Something else. Someone else.

Some one...

Sasuke...

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Naru-chan. I've got two more seals for you."

Naruto's eyes snapped open. He hadn't been sleeping, just closed his eyes, trying to pretend that he wasn't there. Wasn't stuck in that chamber. That he was with Sasuke, kissing him... And touching him...

"Naru-chan."

The blond flinched as Orochimaru came into his view, already feeling disgust at the Snake's presence.

Orochimaru chuckled as he saw the way Naruto had flinched. He enjoyed watching Naruto squirm. It was... delicious. His abnormally long tongue darted out to lick his lips as he watched the blue eyes darken in fear as he walked closer.

"Wha?"

Orochimaru slowly drew the first seal over the one on Naruto's stomach. "I've got another test subject. I would like to see if I can transfer the Kyuubi's chakra over to him."

"You'll kill him!"

Orochimaru just smirked. He started on the second seal, placing it on the blonds left arm.

"What's that one?"

"You shall see soon." The chuckle sent shivers down Naruto's spine.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

It had been months... Months without his dobe.

Nothing seemed right, even the bright morning were cloudy and grey to Sasuke. He gazed down at the tomato in his hand, not really seeing it at all. The image of Naruto was firmly engraved in his mind. He had been right there. Right there...

There one minute, ripped away the next.

Three years...three years without him. Just when he'd finally gotten him back... Just when he'd confessed...

Orochimaru. Sasuke wanted to rip his throat out. When he got his hands on that Snake, he would.

And enjoy as the last drop of blood drained from his body.

"Sasuke! We've got a lead!"

The Uchiha dropped the tomato and disappeared, the pink haired kunoichi right behind him.

A/N: Sorry for the delay! Thank you to everyone the read, reviewed, followed, or/and favorited! I really appreciate it! :D


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 7:  
Blue eyes stared up at the ceiling. That wasn't abnormal or even unusual.  
No, what was odd about this picture, was the blankness in that gaze. The nothingness in those eyes. No spirit, almost like it had fled or at least hidden itself deeply, away from those that were harming him.   
The normal hope or determinations in those azure eyes, it was gone.   
Not even a spark or flicker of it could be seen.   
Months...  
It had been months since Naruto had first been trapped.   
Months since the torture had started.   
Months since he'd been cut open, and experimented on...  
Months since he'd been able to move voluntarily by his own power...   
Months since he'd been able to speak to Kurama...  
Months since his body had felt...   
Normal...  
... Whole...  
Clean...  
Months since he'd seen Sasuke...  
Months...  
Months...  
Had it been his imagination...?  
His blasted imagination? Could Sasuke had really confessed to him? Or was that part of his mind? Something he wanted so badly... that he just made it real..? Oh so real...  
If it was true... would Sasuke still want...?   
Naruto was tainted... would Sasuke still...?   
Naruto closed off those thoughts. They made him disgusted with himself, made him want to just... let go.   
Instead, Naruto focused on some other thought. Something that had made him as equally worried.   
Kurama.   
He hadn't been able to feel him. Not a brush, not a flicker, not even the healing power. Where before, Naruto had been able to heal and sense the bijuu just beneath the surface, now he healed very sluggishly. It had started a few days before when Orochimaru had shooed Kabuto away from his skin slicing frenzy, and had placed a seal on him.   
As soon as it had been finished, Naruto had felt both Kurama's and his energy drain away to somewhere else. After that, he hadn't been able to sense Kurama. Not even his healing ability.   
Everything was just... gone...  
Orochimaru had been ecstatic for a while. The sannin had even placed a few more seals on Naruto. They had made him feel so weak.  
Then Kurama had somehow returned full force. Naruto had guessed that whatever seal Orochimaru had placed on him had failed.  
He hadn't seemed pleased with the results but also he hadn't been surprised either. Before Kurama had been able to heal whatever damage his body had, Orochimaru had slapped another seal on Naruto. That one had cut off Kurama mid roar in Naruto's mind.   
Since then, Naruto hadn't been able to feel anything above a brief brush of power. And he was growing weaker and weaker with every day that passed.   
Naruto closed his eyes, unable to stare blindly up at the ceiling any longer. He was so tired. It was useless.. He was useless...  
So worthless.  
A few sounds to his right had Naruto opening his eyes again. From the way his eyelids had stuck together slightly, he must have fallen asleep for a little while. That was slightly unexpected. He hadn't been able to have a good rest in a long time. Just diving into his mind to get away from the physical torture that Kabuto liked inflicting on him.   
Naruto's eyes sluggishly followed the movement of the hands above him.   
It was Orochimaru this time. He was drawing a few seals on Naruto again. The blond wanted so badly to question what the man was doing but was unable to open his mouth at all.  
"Curious, I see." Orochimaru's smug tone echoed around the room, making Naruto's head throb in pain. "You'll be happy to hear that this won't be anything overtly painful, but then again, I've never tested this out on anyone else before. Being a test subject must be so exciting." The Snake smirked, gold eyes going back to the seals.   
Soon after, a gasp of pain escaped Naruto's lips. Orochimaru let out another of his creepy chuckles as he continued to work.   
Suddenly, Orochimaru leaned over Naruto and kissed him. Naruto felt his stomach roll, nausea beginning to build up as those awful lips pressed onto his   
"Kurama..." Naruto thought in despair, hoping that he could somehow answer back.  
Briefly, very briefly, Naruto felt thought that he felt an echo of something coming back at him. After seconds of silence though, he sagged in disappointment.   
Orochimaru hissed something, bringing Naruto's focus back to whatever the missing-nin was doing. He had stopped molesting him and had gone back to his seals. "Pity... I only have time for one more." The sannin cocked his head to the side, eyes narrowing in displeasure.  
The onslaught of pain that followed that statement was mind boggling. His body tensed, and he was sure that if his body wasn't tied down, he would have been thrashing frantically.   
Through the pain, Naruto heard Orochimaru chuckling. "We'll see if you survive this, Naru-chan. Hopefully, I'll be seeing you again, you're such a pleasure." And he disappeared from Naruto's line of vision.  
Just when he thought that the slimy bastard was gone, another stab of pain straight through his chest.   
The pain from the seals was forgotten.   
Naruto's eyes had flown open and locked on Orochimaru's maniacal grin for a moment before flowing down to where a kunai protruded from the center of his chest. Orochimaru's fingers were still wrapped tightly around the handle. Naruto could feel every twitch, the pain growing worse by the second.   
"Gahh-" Naruto coughed out, blood flew from his mouth.   
A moment after, Orochimaru was gone. He left with a chuckle, and the kunai stayed embedded in Naruto's chest.   
Another cough escaped Naruto's mouth, this one sounding extremely wet. Naruto knew it was from the blood, he didn't need to metallic taste to tell him that much. Forcing his muscles to move, Naruto pressed down around his wound.   
His fingers itched to wrap around the handle and pull it out, but Sakura had lectured him enough to know that that was a bad idea. He was surprised he remembered that much, though Naruto didn't know how much good it would do him. If someone didn't find him soon, he wouldn't last long.   
Blood welled up between his fingers, making them wet and sticky as it dried.  
"Kami..." The whispered word had Naruto turn towards the sound. The slight movement sent spikes of pain through his head, and he coughed again.   
Black spots began to appear throughout his vision. Naruto had to blink rapidly in an attempt to clear it up.   
A spot of pink, another of grey and another of black were growing bigger and bigger.   
"Naruto.."  
"Damn it..."  
"Hang in there, Naruto!" That last sounded suspiciously like Sakura.   
Was this his imagination, though? Or was it really... "Sasuke...?" Naruto whispered hoarsely, saliva or more like blood, dripped out of the corner of his mouth.  
There was a roaring in his ears, so Naruto didn't hear if there was a reply.   
Vaguely, he noticed that his body was cold. Naruto could feel himself shivering on that damn table.   
Then... something warm touched him, cupping his face.  
Blinking rapidly, Naruto's vision cleared.   
"Sasuke..." Naruto whispered, feeling incredibly happy. He didn't even care about the blood anymore. Sasuke was there, he was there! And if Naruto died, then at least he'd been able to see him one more time. "Sasuke..."  
"Shhh, don't speak, Naruto...."   
Naruto saw the panic, the worry on Sasuke's face before his vision went hazy, and finally blacked out, though he could still hear.  
"No! Naruto!"  
"Stay awake, Naruto!"  
"Sorry..." Naruto whispered before he knew no more.  
OoOoOoOoOoOoOo  
"Damn it! Naruto!" Sasuke cried out, showing more emotion in front of his team then he'd ever shown before.   
Sakura worked frantically, hands glowing green as they hovered a few inches above Naruto's stomach. "Sasuke, help me! I need you to pull this out when I tell you! Not before. Exactly when I tell you!"  
Sasuke nodded in understanding. The look on his face was indescribable.  
"Kakashi-sensei, I'm going to need you to..." The kunoichi continued, motioning for the two males to gather around Naruto.  
Sasuke couldn't help but keep his gaze locked on Naruto's face. It was scrunched up in pain. Lines that had never been there before, prominent, and overriding the laugh lines.   
"On one. Two. Three!"

A/N: Sorry it's taking me forever! Loved all your reviews! Thank you for favoriting/following/reading!  
Happy Holidays! I know I might be late on a few...


	9. Chapter 9

All three members of Team 7 sat back, sweat clinging to their faces as they stared down at the last member of their team. After months of not seeing him, they finally found him. Not how they would have liked, but at least they had found him.

Blood still clung to him, but luckily, and and all bleeding had been stopped and healed.

"We need to get him back. He's stable, but he needs Lady Tsunade. This... What they did to him..." Sakura didn't even need to continue on that thread. "I'm also worried... He... he's not healing like he normally would."

Both Sasuke and Kakashi nodded.

"I'll go find the rest of the team. The signal is still jammed." Kakashi got up and left, summoning Pakkun just before going out the door.

Sasuke moved closer to Naruto. Still, even with all the healing they had done, his face was still scrunched up in pain. Using the pad of his thumb, Sasuke gently tried to smooth out the lines.

Surprisingly, Naruto's dirty face smoothed out slightly. His body relaxed, and he sort of turned towards Sasuke a bit, almost like he know it was him.

Ignoring the look that Sakura was giving him, Sasuke ran his finger through Naruto's slightly longer than normal and reddish hair.

It stuck to his fingers, and some of it was clumped together because of the blood in it. Sasuke studied Naruto. Other than the blood, he looked clean. Either he bathed himself regularly, or they were. The thought of them touching Naruto made Sasuke want to kill them.

The anger... The anger he felt when he'd seen Naruto with that kunai in his chest...

At first he'd thought that the blond was dead. His heart had stopped when that had gone through his mind.

Seeing Naruto... Tied onto the table... A kunai... and blood... Blood everywhere.

Then he'd moved.

He'd moved.

Sasuke had to blink rapidly to clear his vision of the tears that he wasn't going to let fall.

Naruto had moved. He hadn't lost him, and he wasn't going to.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Naruto looked around, feeling more than a little detached for some reason. Everything was dark. No matter how hard he squinted -which he had to admit, wasn't really that hard-, there was nothing that he could see.

Nothing appeared, nothing happened.

He just... drifted.

It was kind of nice, in a way. Nothing hurt. He wasn't cold. His chest wasn't being cut open while he watched.

There was just... nothing.

Exactly how long he floated through the dark space, Naruto didn't know. It was rather peaceful, and in all honesty, he wasn't willing to leave.

Just when he thought that he wasn't going to be going anywhere, the darkness started to recede slightly. At first, Naruto didn't notice it. It was only apparent to him when the space was more grey than black. When it was closer to white then it was to grey, Naruto knew that he was waking up.

And he was sure that it was going to be painful. Already, Naruto could feel the dull ache where the kunai had been. He was absolutely positive that he'd feel whatever else Orochimaru and Kabuto had done to him in a few moments.

That was when he heard it.

"Naruto..."

He knew that voice. If it had been anyone else, Naruto wouldn't have woken up just yet. Wouldn't have wanted to.

But, it was his voice.

Sasuke.

That didn't mean that he woke up right away. It was gradual.

Naruto's eyelids fluttered open. Everything was blurry, and he had to blink repeatedly to get everything to clear up.

That was when it hit, all at once. Even if he'd tried to, Naruto wouldn't have been able to hold back the gasp of pain.

"Naruto!"

Naruto had closed his eyes again. An involuntary reaction to the agony that he felt. He had to grit his teeth to stop another sound of pain from escaping.

"Calm down, Gaki!"

Naruto once again couldn't hold back the flinch as green glowing hands appeared above him. He felt sick, his stomach giving a bit of a spasm. The urge to throw up was strong, but Naruto clamped his mouth shut, and closed his eyes.

Tsunade continued to examine the blond, her face drawn in a frown. She couldn't find anything wrong with him.

Nothing.

Everything had already been healed, and he shouldn't be in any pain.

"Tell me where it hurts, I can't find it..." Tsunade kept her eyes locked on her work, not noticing how Naruto's eyes snapped open.

After a moment of breathing deeply through his nose, Naruto shook his head. When he felt like he wasn't about to lose the contents of his stomach -which was probably only stomach acid-, he spoke. "It's alright, just a bit sore..."

Tsunade's hand immediately stopped glowing and she gave Naruto a look. Naruto tried his best not to grimace, and instead closed his eyes again, breathing deeply. "How long have I been asleep?"

"I'm not going to lie, you've been in a coma for around two months. For a good while, you were unstable even though Sakura healed as much as she could..." Tsunade looked away for a moment, before turning back to the blond. "I know you probably don't want to think about it, but you're going to have to write a report..."

Naruto managed to hold back the flinch this time, instead nodding his head.

Tsunade seemed surprised that he hadn't said anything, but she continued. "Regrettably, Orochimaru got away. Nothing was found in that base, other than you. We found out that Orochimaru planned capturing you. That first mission was a trap, he wanted to capture you specifically... I know this is a long shot, but did he ever speak about why in front of you?"

Naruto dug his fingers into his palms. "He said something about trying to transfer Kurama's powers with seals, and being a test subject. I'm not really sure of anything else." Naruto replied stiffly, keeping his eyes locked on the white ceiling above him.

Tsunade nodded slowly, looking sad. "Try to sleep, you'll be getting a few visitors later. Sasuke has been here every day that he's not out on a mission. Been driving the staff crazy."

As soon she left, Naruto let out a muffled groan. He dove into his mind, and tried catching the link that connected him to Kurama. If he managed to talk to him then maybe the bijuu would know why he was in so much pain. And also why a medical jutsu couldn't detect the source.

After a thorough search, Naruto finally found him. A tiny string, or even a keyhole. Kurama was on the other side, separated by a door that Naruto couldn't see.

Naruto didn't know how long he was there, but he tried everything that he could think of to for that keyhole to grow bigger. At least big enough so that they could actually speak to each other.

But nothing he did, helped that small connection to grow.

"Kukukuku."

Naruto froze. He knew that voice. Why he could hear it... here of all places...

"You survived so far. I'm impressed, Naru-chan. Kunai in the chest with no help from the kyuubi..." The voice whispered into Naruto's ear.

Naruto stepped away and frantically looked around. It couldn't be! He was in his mind, there was no way that Orochimaru was there! It must be his imagination. It had to be.

"Aww, poor Naru-chan. Of course I'm not really here. No, nothing of that sort. I won't tell you, it'd be more exciting to have you figure it out yourself." Orochimaru's voice echoed around him, but no matter in what direction he turned, Naruto couldn't see him.

"Leave me alone!" Naruto snarled, feeling like an idiot because he couldn't find him!

"Hmmm... How about... No." Orochimaru sounded delighted at Naruto frantic search. "And just because of that..."

Naruto gasped in agony. His chest felt like it was being pulled open again. His ribs... His ribs were making that awful popping noise.

"Kukukuku." Orochimaru sounded like he was right behind Naruto. He felt the brush of a hand against his neck but this time he didn't turn around. The pain from his chest was excruciating. "I'll be seeing you, my Naruuu-chan."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

This time when he pulled himself awake, Naruto sat up and hunched over his chest. It was still in pain, but when Naruto looked, there was no blood, no cut, no ribs splayed open.

There was nothing wrong.

And yet, he could still feel it. It felt horrible. What was happening to him? Why was he hearing his voice? Why did it feel like his chest had been ripped open again? Why was he feeling all this pain? Was it all in his head? Was that it? Had he gone crazy?

Was he crazy?

"Naruto?"

The blond snapped his head over to the left. He didn't want to think about that. Not when he was here. "Sasuke!"

The Uchiha rushed over to Naruto's side, and throwing his arms around him.

For a moment, just a moment, Naruto felt happy.

And then the agony hit.

Because he had already been in pain before, Naruto managed to hold himself back from pushing away. He didn't want to let go of Sasuke. He just didn't, no matter how much pain he was feeling, he wasn't going to push him away. "Sasuke... It wasn't my imagination... was it?"

Sasuke ran his fingers through Naruto's long hair. "No, it wasn't."

Reluctantly, Sasuke let go. The agony vanished, leaving Naruto blinking in surprise. When Sasuke reached over to take one of his hands in his, it happened again. This time, Naruto couldn't stop the flinch.

Sasuke frowned, looking worried. "What's wrong?"

Naruto opened his mouth to tell him, but that last seal that Orochimaru had placed on him began to burn. "N..nothing."


End file.
